“Shut Up and Read” is not just a saying for Jeannine Cook. It’s an affirmation, a prayer, and the title of her new memoir. Shut Up and Read follows Cook’s life from being raised by a blind librarian, to fleeing abuse and creating the iconic Harriett’s Bookshop in Philadelphia. Cook writes about how she found her purpose, community, and survived the COVID-19 pandemic when many shops could not.
As part of Spotlight PA’s bookclub, Booklight PA, engagement coordinator Yaasmeen Piper spoke with Cook about her work. Watch their conversation in the video below:
This event is in partnership with A Novel Idea, a community-minded bookstore and event space in East Passyunk, Philadelphia, run by Alexander Schneider and Christina Rosso-Schneider. Read more about A Novel Idea and purchase your books here.
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Upcoming Booklight PA events:
April 30: Sidle Creek with author Jolene McIlwain
June 25: Mother Tongue with author Sara Novic
Test your knowledge of the state’s most iconic Black authors, artists, and Black-owned bookshops in the seven question quiz below. (Not seeing anything below? Click here.)